Marketing

As the Sunshine Coast’s Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), one of our primary roles is to create compelling advertisements and related promotional tools and programs to raise awareness of and inspire people to visit the Sunshine Coast — and this benefits the entire Sunshine Coast tourism economy!

Our solid understanding of visitor interests and travel trends — and our in-depth knowledge of the businesses, activities and attractions on the Sunshine Coast — have helped us create a “brand”, or identity, for the Coast as a group of laid-back coastal communities inspired by nature, with exceptional outdoor recreational offerings and rich in art, culture, food, drink and soul-soothing retreats.

See Our Brand Framework

Our brand sets the tone for all of our marketing and promotional activities, and with this vision, we promote the Sunshine Coast as a year-round travel destination with a view to increasing visitor traffic, spending, and longer stays in the shoulder season, from September to May.

Our primary geographic markets are British Columbia, Alberta, and Washington. As a “community-level” organization, our resources are best focused on these closer geographical markets, and we work closely with our provincial partner Destination British Columbia and federal partner Destination Canada to promote to further international markets.

Within these 3 geographic markets, we focus further on psychographic traveller profiles that best fit what the Sunshine Coast has to offer:

Authentic Experiencers & Cultural Explorers: Independent travellers with a desire to get off the beaten path, be in nature, learn about an area’s history and culture and interact with locals
Free Spirits: Seek fun and are interested in the more social, hedonistic and thrill-seeking experiences we provide
Gentle Explorers: Seek travel experiences that are easy and provide the comforts of home; many of them return year after year to relax in familiar surroundings.

Our Marketing Tactics:

Branding

BRANDING

Develop, maintain, and grow the “Sunshine Coast, BC” brand

See Our Brand Framework >

Paid-Advertising

PAID ADVERTISING

Creating compelling advertising across both traditional and digital media to create an emotional urgency to visit the Sunshine Coast.

Owned-Media

OWNED MEDIA

Our unique website, social media channels, promo videos, email newsletters, travel guides, maps, and brochures are content that we’ve created to provide helpful information, ideas, and opinions audiences may not find elsewhere.

Earned-Media

EARNED MEDIA

We work with journalists, freelance writers, social influencers, editors, and broadcasters on travel-focused stories to build destination awareness in our top markets.

Partnerships

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Collaborate with Destination BC and other local & regional tourism partners and sectors (ex: Coastal Circle Route, BC Ale Trail) to leverage funding & cooperatively market shared attractions.

Consumer-Shows